Tourism entrepreneurship and social capital

Given that the tourism sector is dominated by small firms, tourism development is increasingly linked to the entrepreneurial behaviour of tourism businesses. Tourism entrepreneurship has made significant contributions to tourism destinations through the range of products and services offered in the accommodation, transportation, visitor attraction, travel organising and entertainment sectors. The potential of tourism as an engine for economic and social development underscores the importance of access to various forms of capital for small tourism enterprises, particularly in developing countries. One type of capital that is important is social capital - one that enables the acquisition of other capital assets to achieve economic development and good governance. Tourism entrepreneurship presents opportunities for bottom-up approaches to tourism development since tourism relies on local conditions e.g. physical infrastructure and the labour market. However, social capital accumulation is fundamental to achieving socio-economic goals.